TwinVeil was practically screaming that it was made by elves for elves, and that it was a thief's favorite kind of town to make a living in. There was probably some rather strict laws against thievery here, unless even the rich were stealing. Rhea wasn't fond of things like this city. It really showed the arrogance of people, to build an interconnected city high up in the trees. Elves were a smart, cunning people, but certainly their enemies would be quick to light a match to this city and let gravity do the rest. Rudolph would hate this place.

A familiar atmosphere, a faint hint of gel permeating throughout the area. She could feel herself loosen up, surrounded by her breathens. It's been too long.

"Mana essence. This is certainly home." She gazed into the distance, webs of trees and branches obscuring the horizon. One of them housed her parents, who would probably be enjoying a peaceful, quiet life. They may be adventurers, but that was the past. You can't always be in your prime.

"Excuse me, sirs?" She asked the elven escorts of the party, "Where is the young captain and the Lantern Bearer taken?"

The orbs of light surrounding TwinVeil caught Rabbit's interest the most. He gazed at them as he was led about, impressed and wondering what else was in store.
"Ah can't remember the last time ah wuz here! Mah memory is kinda foggy, but I have always been impressed by the work of the elves," Rabbit whispered to himself.

Rabbit smiled faintly, as a multitude of thoughts came in one by one.

"Then agen', almos' everything I have saw intrigued meh' in wun way or da other."

"I have some confidence in my gut, Master Rudolph," Gilderhall said proudly as he tapped his belly. "There is a nearby pub, what say you we get going then, hmm?"

As the blacksmith rounded up some of his apprentices who were old enough to drink (and then leave one to watch over the younger)¹. He noticed a somber tune in the air and his eyes rested on the clockwork. "Master Rudolph," he began. "Is that one of yours?"

=-=-=

The tailor had patiently waited outside of the dressing room, overjoyed that his customer had been pleased. "That is good to hear," he said. "Payment? Considering the work done, I'd say seven copper pieces should do nicely."



Lera approached one of their escorts. One of them looked at her closely before speaking. "Welcome home, sister," she said with a slight bow then a bit suprised at the question. "They should be heading to the council right now. Shouldn't be too long though, they have other matters to attend to as well. Do you need assistance in moving around here? I surmise its been awhile since you've left."

The rest of the elves went elsewhere, mostly up into the higher levels of the city.

FOOTNOTES
¹In total, three will be joining the pub.

Ox reached into his coin purse, which was located within one of the deepest pockets that came with his previous pair of pants, and began rummaging through it. Seven copper pieces is what he had left and seven copper pieces is what he needed to pay. So, he had to come face to face with a decision. Would he use the rest of his money to pay for the clothes, would he try to swindle the man, or would he just give the clothes back. Now, normally, this question would be easy enough to answer. But, since the man was so nice and the price was so cheap, he couldn't find it in him to try and rob the man. His grandmother would have been disappointed.

"Right, here it is." He said, holding a closed fist with seven copper pieces held firmly inside. It took him a few seconds to actually let go of the coins and, afterwards, it would take him a few minutes to get over the trauma. "Thanks for the string, friend. Hopefully, this town will gather itself together so you can get more business." Without saying another word, he nodded and placed his old clothes into his backpack. Once he made sure he gathered everything, he left the store and looked for his robotic companion, who had been sitting on a surprisingly sturdy barrel by the dwarf and some others. He knew that the first place a dwarf would go to relax would be a bar.

"Not... His." Rook said to Gilderhall. "Teacher." He continued, pointing over to the half-elf that was approaching them.

Mari limited herself to trailing the group, keeping her face tucked inside her hood. Hunter and Nat followed the Fangs leader, exchanging some words as they went along the catwalks. The redhead woman was in awe, basking her eyes in the beauty of TwinVeil, while Hunter kept reminding her to keep an eye open.

Rudolph looked at Rook. "Ayy, that be the knife-ears' companion. Some reason, it be travelin with 'im. Been teachin it music 'e says, in exchange for it protectin 'im." The dwarf looked at the blacksmith. "Why? It ain't of no 'arm ta ye. Now comon, my lips are parched for a noice cool point."

Rhea shrugged, overhearing the conversation between Lera and the elf, "would be nice to find a place to get some food and drink, if you don't mind. I imagine we'll be waiting on the others to get back from their meeting for a while. Might as well get comfortable."

"Alright then!" Gilderhall nodded as he lead himself, his three apprentices and Rudolph towards the local pub. Within minutes, they had arrived. The pub was a quaint little shop with nothing more than pair of windows, a large wooden door and a sign that hung above it that read the Singing Stallion. The blacksmith threw the door open and greeted the people inside with glee.

"Evenin'!" He said. The pub looked to be half full, circular tables were scattered inside with a stage at the far end. Men raised their mugs to Gilderhall's arrival, some smiling, others obviously already drunk beyond saving. A man from behind the counter, just near the door, raised his hand and leaned forward to get a better view of the newcomers.

"Ah, Master Smith, to what do I owe the party?" The barkeep said, acknowledging his three apprentices and a dwarf. "Must be something special, mhm?"

Gilderhall smiled and shook his head. "Nah, Frackett, nah. Just me and the boys out for a night. Also treating someone. Can't say myself a master smith, bein' taught things I never knew of possible." The man pointed to Rudolph and nodded.

"Drinks on these four lads are on me tonight, Frackett," he said as he slapped the counter with his hand. "Hard days work earns hard night's drink!" The apprentices' mood quickly brightened at the thought. Gilderhall then leaned his back on the counter, elbows resting on it as well.

=-=-=-=

Outside, Ox and the clockwork had been reuinited and the night finally drew in. The wind had brought another cold gale, what it could mean being this cold during the summer nights, he couldn't say.



The elf looked to the ranger and knight and reassured them. "The council shouldn't take too long with your people," she said aloof. "If it is food and drink you want, I could take you to a place if it is good with all of you."

With a few nods from the party, the elf had her permissions. "You may call me Saria," she said. The elf then pointed towards the nearest lift and gestured the party to follow her. "Twinveil must be confusing for you, all its twists and turns. If you do get lost, sister Lera should be able to guide you through the basics. I'm sure she still remembers." Saria winked at Lera as she waited for the party to enter the lift. Once she was sure everyone was on, it activated with a flick of her wrist. After what could bge assumed to be two floors of the city, the lift had stopped and Saria hopped off.

"We're nearly there," she said. The party had been lead upwards to what seems to be a hundred feet higher than where they had previously been. They had set foot on one of several massive branches that housed the main road. Structures like housing and shops were carved out of the comparatively smaller branches of this one. Elves of different ages walked through the 'street' and gave them curious glances. Rabbit could tell this was their marketplace of sorts, a bazaar high in the branches. "So what brings you to Twinveil?"

The dwarf breathed in deep through his nose and he grinned at the nostalgic smells; nutty cheese, long grain bread, and ale. "Now now, 'ow bout w' decide who pays between da two of us by who drinks da least?" He grinned. "Ya said yer gonna give me a run fer m' money, now let's see ya own up ta it." The dwarf dropped his haversack on the ground next to an empty chair by a table large enough for the five of them. "Com'on laddies, lemme show ya how a dwarf drinks!" He stood on top of the chair and laughed.

Gilderhall beamed. "Right then!" The blacksmith gathered his apprentices in a massive embrace and guided them towards the table Rudolph had settled in. "Frackett, keep the drinks coming!"

Frackett looked as burly as Gilderhall was though shorter. His thick fingerz snapped at the air, calling out the barmaids from the kitchen. "Gather your skirts and wills, you'll be serving drunk men until the crack of dawn!"

The girls simply nodded and went to their duties. "Five for Gilderhall's crew; Emma? Yes, you girl, refill that man's mug over there. Oi, Syla, any news on the bard? He's late as usual, the bloke be late to his own lycan attack if he could."

Emma, a short haired brunette, nodded and went to the counter for a pitcher and Syla, a tall blonde with pale skin, shrugged at the bard's current whereabouts.

"Haven't seen hide or hair of ol' Erdmon, Frackett," Syla replied as she moved towards the counter. "'Haps he's been taken?"

Frackett shook his head. "Saw him last night, skulking while we fought. Man knows how to hide from action; the lycan attack last night is no excuse for him."

As Gilderhall and the rest settled on their seats, the barmaid approached their table and set down five mugs, each filled to the brim with foam overflowing at the top. Gilderhall eyed Rudolph sternly as he swept his cup and brought it to his mouth, downing the entire thing's content in a single gulp. The smith set it down with a slam and the barmaid simply looked at the already empty container.

"Come now boys," Gilderhall gestured to his apprentices. "Nights young and we have a dwarf to show how strong human livers are."



"The great Soramaru seeks aid, elven warrior!" The disciple declared, thrusting his fist into the air. "There are creatures who prey under his divine light and must be stopped."

"Enough of that," the monk to his side said exasperated. "You haven't been silent the entire time after my shift in the church. All about this Soramaru god that isn't even in any texts I've read."

The elven guide raised an eyebrow and looked to the two as she walked on. "Soramaru? Creatures of the night, you mean Lycanthrope then?"

"Yes! Heathens they are," the disciple continued.

A missing bard? Now this sounds like my chance to get some coin!

Osxium, the half elf bard with a pitch black cittern, positioned himself so he could get a foot on some sort of chair or barrel besides the group. He swung his cittern to the front and began plucking at strings, creating a simple rhythm as he spoke.

"So, you all are missing a bard? I'll have you know that I'm the best long eared musician that has ever touched soil." He said, a smirk stretching across his face as his sentence went on. "What exactly would you be needing that bard for? Maybe some background music for your drinking contest?"

"Ooh showin off now are we?" Rudolph took a deep breath out before grabbing his mug and practically inhaling its contents. He exhaled again through his nose before tipping the mug to reveal its empty. "Seems w're gun need a refill." The dwarf grinned. "Oh look, it's da knife-ears, guess yer friend is too big ta settle in. 'N long as ye dunt try ta muck up any more dwarf songs, Guess some music 'll be good."

"We're supposed to be on our way to Highmount, but the lantern-bearer and mule are looking to get Thornfell some help with their Lycan problem." Rhea found her eyes wandering to Lera more ever since Saria referred to Lera as sister. This truly was shaping up to be a rather peculiar group. "How about Twinveil, Saria? Has this interesting town seen its share of Lycan? Have the forests gone silent as well?"